Third Person POV from now on.
Ella and Lisa stared at each other in silence.
"Your drink is inside the compartment," the vending machine announced. Neither of them moved.
"Your drink is inside the compartment. Your drink is inside the compartment. Your drink is inside the compartment-"
"I KNOW!" Lisa snapped. She bent down, grabbed the soda from the compartment, and turned back toward Ella, who was still staring at her. "Okay...What is it?"
"Hm?" Ella blinked.
"You've been staring at me for, like, a full minute. What's the deal?"
"Oh!" Ella exclaimed. "I need to know where Lemington High is."
Lisa raised an eyebrow. "You're going there?" She pointed toward a massive structure looming above the city skyline. "You see that giant building? The school's somewhere around there."
"Oh! Alright then. Thanks!" Ella immediately took off running. "Byyyyyye!"
Lisa watched her disappear into the crowd,"...Okay." She cracked open her soda.
Ella
Ella sprinted across a pedestrian bridge, weaving between people as she crossed from one side of the city to the other. Halfway across, she stopped. Below her, hundreds of hovering vehicles streamed through the streets.
Her eyes widened, "This place is astounding."
Suddenly, she heard cheering nearby. A crowd had gathered around someone on the street below. Curious, Ella hurried down the stairs and squeezed through the mass of people until she could finally see the center of attention.
"YEAH, IT'S ME!" the boy shouted proudly. "The bad, the impressive, and the best-looking—Bryson!"
The crowd erupted.
Ella stared blankly. "...Who?"
Tanner
Tanner stood in the circular driveway of an extravagant resort. The building practically glowed gold beneath the sunlight. Massive oak trees lined the entrance, giving the place an almost royal appearance.
"Where are you, Ella?" he muttered.
"Tanner?!"
He turned and his eyes widened. "Christian?!"
Christian hurried toward him with a smile. It had been three years since they last seen each other.
"You finally made it."
Tanner couldn't help staring. Christian looked different. Older. More confident.
"You, uh..." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "You look good."
Christian tilted her head. "Hm?"
Tanner immediately looked away. "N-Nothing. Thanks for letting me and Ella stay here."
Christian chuckled, "No problem. Anything for you two." Then she glanced around."...Wait. Where's Ella?"
Tanner winced. "Doing her own thing."
"Of course she is." Then her smile disappeared. "...She knows where the hotel is, right?"
Tanner stared at the ground, "Well..."
"Tanner..."
"She ran off pretty fast."
"Seriously?!"
"Y-Yeah but..."
"No buts! Where did Ella say she'll be?"
"Well..." Tanner said, reluctantly pointing toward the massive school building towering above the city skyline.
Christian followed his finger and immediately frowned. "Please don't tell me she went to that school."
Tanner sighed. "There's a reason she begged to come here early."
Christian's shoulders slumped, "And here I thought she came to see me."
Lisa
Lisa walked along a crowded sidewalk in the heart of the city. Hovering cars zipped through the streets while hundreds of civilians filled the air with endless chatter. She finished the last sip of her soda before spotting an arcade tucked between two towering buildings.
"Let's see..." she muttered. "Street Fighter, Tetris, Holographic Chess... What should I play this time?"
Without another thought, she stepped inside. The arcade was nearly empty. Aside from a few attendants scattered throughout the building and two kids desperately failing at Subway Surfers in the corner, the place felt abandoned.
Lisa frowned, "Hm." She shoved her hands into her pockets. "It's like nobody comes here anymore. Ever since that damn parasite of a school."
She wandered over to an attendant leaning against a machine while scrolling through his phone. "Hey. I'll take thirty coins."
The attendant glanced up at her. With her black jacket pulled up and most of her face hidden, she probably looked more like a robber than a customer.
"That'll be twelve dollars, ma'am."
"Yeah, sure," Lisa handed him the money, took the stack of coins, and stuffed them into her pocket. "Thanks."
She headed deeper into the arcade, rows of machines stretching in every direction. For a moment, she looked left. Then right. Then left again.
"You know what?" she said with a small grin. "To hell with it."
Ella
After leaving the crowd behind, Ella continued running in the direction the vending machine girl had pointed her. At least, she hoped it was the right direction.
The street stretched endlessly ahead of her. A towering stone wall ran alongside the road while not a single landmark gave her confidence she was actually getting closer to her destination.
Eventually, she slowed to a walk. "Is this even the right way?" she shouted into the empty street. She groaned dramatically. "Maybe I should just give up and call Tanner to come pick my helpless ass up."
A sudden giggle echoed behind her, Ella turned around. Two girls wearing red uniforms were walking together, laughing about something:
"There's no way Amanda beats Daiya."
"I know! She's determined, but Daiya's not going to make it easy."
"Weren't they best friends before becoming rivals?"
"Yeah, but..."
The girls suddenly noticed Ella staring at them. Both immediately stopped.
"What do you want?" one asked suspiciously.
Ella blinked, "Uh..." She looked back toward the endless road.
"Well?!" the other girl snapped.
"Oh!" Ella turned back toward them. "Do either of you happen to know where Lemington High is? I'm a new student."
The girls exchanged a glance.
"...That explains a lot."
"We're heading there ourselves. Just follow us."
Ella's face lit up. "Oh! Thank you!"
The first girl started walking again."Yeah. Just don't stare at people like that next time."
"You were giving off some seriously weird vibes."
Ella paused. "Oh." She rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry."
Minutes Later
The three of them continued down the street. The two girls chatted endlessly with one another while Ella trailed behind, growing more impatient with every passing minute. She still hadn't seen the school.
"Hey," Ella finally called out. "Where exactly is this school?"
One of the girls glanced back. "It's right around the corner."
"And if you're new," the other added, "head to the center of campus first. There's a receptionist there who'll help you figure out what you want to enroll in."
"Wait, we're already here?" Ella asked. As she rounded the corner, the massive stone wall running alongside the road suddenly opened up. Ella froze.
Beyond the opening stretched a gleaming white pathway made of polished steel-like flooring that almost resembled quartz. On either side of the path were vast fields of green grass filled with students dressed in uniforms identical to the girls beside her. The pathway extended across the water as a bridge, leading directly to an enormous white academy standing proudly in the distance.
Ella stared. And stared. And stared.
The two girls noticed.
"You're such a weirdo."
"Seriously. Where are you even from?"
Ella snapped out of her trance, "New Orleans."
The girls exchanged a look.
"Ah."
"That explains a lot."
Ella looked back toward the school, unable to take her eyes off it. "Yeah..." A smile slowly spread across her face. "Anyway, thanks!"
Without warning, she bolted toward the bridge. The two girls watched her sprint away.
"She's weird."
"Definitely weird."
Ella ignored them. As she raced across the bridge, she glanced down at the crystal-clear ocean beneath her. The sunlight danced across the water's surface. Then she looked back at the academy. A grin stretched across her face.
"Why does everyone keep calling me weird?" She ran even faster.
Tanner
Tanner lay sprawled across one of the beds in Christian's hotel suite, staring at the ceiling.
A moment later, Christian entered the room and sat beside him. "So?" She looked around proudly. "What do you think?"
Tanner shifted his gaze toward her, "It's incredible."
Christian laughed. "Really? This is considered one of the cheaper hotels on Lemdust Island."
"Maybe."
Tanner smiled. "But I'm just happy it's somewhere with you and Ella."
"Yeah..."
Without warning, Christian smacked him upside the head.
"Ow!"
"When we find her."
Tanner rubbed the side of his head. "Fair enough."
Christian stood and walked toward the kitchen.
"Oh! By the way," Tanner called out. "When can I start working downstairs?"
"I already asked the manager before I found you!" Christian shouted from the other room.
Tanner sat up. "And?"
"He said you can start tomorrow morning if you're ready."
Tanner immediately grinned. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
He climbed out of bed and followed her into the kitchen. "I'm still surprised he'd hire me."
Christian opened a cabinet and placed a cereal box inside. "Well, it's hard to say no to the best pianist in the hotel."
Tanner laughed.
"How's that going?"
Christian shrugged. "Stressful." She closed the cabinet. "Performing every hour gets exhausting." Then she smiled. "But the money's good."
Tanner felt his stomach tighten. Those dimples hadn't changed at all. "Y-Yeah..."
Christian narrowed her eyes, "What?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you acting weird?"
"I'm not acting weird."
"You totally are."
Tanner quickly looked away, "Shouldn't we be trying to find Ella?"
Christian sighed."We should." Then she hopped onto the counter. "But first, we've got four years to catch up on."
Tanner's smile faded.
Christian immediately noticed, "What is it?"
He stared at the crumbs scattered across the countertop. "After you left..." His voice lowered. "Ella's mom died."
Silence. Then Christian's eyes widened. For several seconds, she simply stared at him. Waiting for a smile, a joke, anything. "You're kidding."
Tanner slowly shook his head."No." His gaze fell. "It was cancer."
Christian turned away immediately. A tear slipped down her cheek. "Wow." She forced out a weak laugh. "This conversation got depressing so fast."
"T-That's my fault. I shouldn't have—"
"No," She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "It's okay." She took a deep breath. "Ms. Lewis was like a second mother to me."
"She was to me too," Christian swallowed.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Tanner looked at her, "Because we couldn't." He sighed. "One day we were playing by the lake. Then the next day..your house had a For Sale sign in front of it."
Christian lowered her gaze, "I wanted to tell you."
"So did Ella," Tanner continued. "But we had no idea where you'd gone."
Christian nodded slowly. "That makes sense." She wiped away another tear. "And Ella?"
Tanner leaned back in his chair. "For about a week, I barely saw her." Then a small smile appeared. "But eventually she watched that video."
Christian frowned, "What video?"
"The Ace."
"Seriously?"
Tanner chuckled,"Yeah."
"Why would she care about that?"
He thought for a moment. "Maybe she wanted revenge. Maybe she wanted redemption." He shrugged. "Or maybe she just wanted her mom to see she was capable of doing something incredible."
Christian smiled sadly. "Yeah. Maybe."
Ella
Ella sprinted through the school's entrance. Two grand staircases curved upward on either side of the building, leading to the classroom wings. Below them sat a spacious lobby where students lounged on couches, chatted with friends, and waited for classes to begin. At the center of it all stood a circular reception desk. A woman sat behind it.
Ella immediately ran over. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
The receptionist looked up, "Let me guess. You're here to register for a suit."
"A suit?" Ella tilted her head. "Oh! You mean which suit I want to join?"
"Precisely."
A floating television screen flickered to life above the desk. The symbols of the four card suits appeared across it:
Diamond. Club. Heart. Spade.
"Once students complete their core courses," the woman explained, "they spend their remaining hours training within their chosen suit. Their ultimate goal is to challenge and defeat the captain of that suit."
Ella's eyes wandered around the lobby. Students filled every couch and table. On the upper walls hung four enormous posters. Each displayed a different student with a suit symbol printed in the corner:
A serious-looking boy beneath a Spade.
A cheerful girl beneath a Heart.
A handsome student beneath a Diamond.
And a familiar face beneath a Club.
Ella pointed. "Who are they?"
The receptionist blinked, "I assumed everyone knew." She pointed toward each poster. "The creepy-looking one is the captain of the Spades. The overly cheerful girl is the captain of the Hearts. The handsome kid in blue is our student body president and captain of the Diamonds."
Ella pointed toward the final poster, "And him?"
The receptionist smiled. "Him? That's Bryson Kade. Captain of the Clubs."
Ella's eyes widened. "So that's why everyone was crowding around him earlier—"
"WAIT!" The receptionist nearly launched herself out of her chair.
Ella jumped.
"You saw Bryson?!"
"...Yeeees?"
"Today?!"
"About thirty minutes ago."
The receptionist grabbed her forehead and took a deep breath. "I apologize." Then took another deep breath. "We almost never see him."
"What do you mean?"
"He travels constantly for competitions. The only guaranteed time he shows up is during the Gaming League."
"Seriously?"
Ella glanced back at the poster. "I thought all the captains stayed on campus."
"Bryson's schedule makes that nearly impossible," The receptionist shrugged. "Still manages to keep up with his schoolwork somehow."
"Huh." Ella looked back at the poster, "Then why's he here now?"
"No idea, Wait." She pointed at Ella. "You never told me which suit you're joining."
"Oh," Ella smiled. "All of them."
The receptionist blinked, "Excuse me, what?"
Several nearby students stopped talking.
"What did you just say?" The receptionist ask one more time.
Ella laughed awkwardly. "Well..." She scratched the back of her neck. "I'm planning on becoming the next Ace."
The entire lobby went silent. Then—
"DUMBASS!" One student in the room shouted.
The receptionist sat back down." You do realize what's required to become an Ace?"
Ella stayed quiet.
"You'd have to master every discipline, Train in all four suits, Defeat all four captains. And if you fail against even one of them, you're forced to resign from the program." She stared directly into Ella's eyes. "You honestly think you can do that?"
Ella met her gaze without hesitation. "Yes."
The receptionist sighed. "...Alright." She held out her hand. "School ID."
A few moments later, Ella's information was scanned into a thin tablet. The receptionist handed the card back. "You're registered."
Ella's face lit up. "Really?! Thank you so mu—"
"After you challenge one of the captains."
Ella froze. "...I'm sorry, what?"
The receptionist pinched the bridge of her nose. "You really didn't do any research before coming here, did you?"
"No."
"At least she's honest." The receptionist sighed again. "In order to officially begin training as an Ace candidate, one of the four captains must personally approve you."
"How?"
"By challenging them and defeating them in the game they specialize in."
Ella's brain immediately short-circuited. "Oh." A pause. "...Splendid."
The receptionist stared at her. Then another pause. "So."
"Yeah?"
"Which one are you actually good at?"
Minutes Later
Ella stepped out of the school just as the bell rang. Students flooded through the entrance, chatting amongst themselves as they headed across campus. Ella shoved her hands into her pockets and walked with the crowd, her mind racing.
"Honestly, I'm not even good at any of them." She sighed, thinking to herself. "I love fighting games and RPGs, sure. But chess? That's going to be rough. And board games? Half of those require strategy, luck, and some weird ancient knowledge nobody should realistically have." She groaned. "I might have to—"
Suddenly, screams erupted from the bridge ahead. Ella's head snapped up. Another crowd had gathered. She immediately broke into a run."Bryson again?"
That guy seemed to attract attention simply by existing. As she got closer, however, she realized it wasn't Bryson. The students surrounding the person parted just enough for her to catch glimpses of a blue uniform. White trim lined the sleeves, collar, and sides of the shirt. Ella instantly recognized it. The Diamond. A grin spread across her face.
"Well, I guess he came to me instead." With renewed confidence, she pushed her way through the crowd. If her assumption was right, standing in the center of all that attention was the leader of the Diamond suit.
Later, Lisa
Lisa sat comfortably in front of a holographic chess table. Across from her sat the CPU. A poor, unfortunate CPU. "Aaaand checkmate."
The holographic board flashed.
VICTORY
A new message floated above the table.
PLAY AGAIN?
Lisa stared at it. "Should I?" A pause. "Nah."
"What's this place?"
Lisa froze. She recognized that voice immediately. Slowly, she looked toward the arcade entrance. Sure enough. It was the weird girl from earlier. "You've got to be kidding me."
Not wanting to be noticed, Lisa immediately turned back toward the chessboard and started another game. Maybe if she ignored her, she'd go away.
"Hey!"
Too late.
"Are you that girl?"
Lisa spun around, "How did you even—" She stopped.
"Wait. How did you get here so fast?"
The girl blinked. "What do you mean?" Then her eyes drifted toward the holographic board. "MyDuckIsSick?" A pause. "...Oh."
"And you're still here?" Lisa asked.
The girl completely ignored the question. Instead, she began looking around the arcade. Her eyes widened. Every machine displayed the same name at the top of the leaderboard.
MyDuckIsSick.
Again. And again. And again.
"What the heeeeeeck?"
Lisa crossed her arms. "What?"
The girl slowly looked back at her. Then a smile appeared. A very dangerous smile. The kind of smile that usually meant trouble.
Lisa immediately felt uncomfortable, "What's with that face?"
The girl pointed dramatically. "Teach me how to play!"
Lisa blinked. "What?"
The girl instantly realized how insane that sounded. She stepped back and awkwardly cleared her throat. "Right. Sorry." She straightened herself. "Let me start over." Then she offered her hand. "Nice to meet you." A grin spread across her face. "My name's Ella."